Visa have restored their payment system after malfunctions in hardware disabled users from using the service across Europe and the UK on Friday.

In a statement, Visa said that the malfunction was not due to any unauthorised access or cyber-attack but a hardware failure.

“We have no reason to believe this was associated with any unauthorised access or malicious event,” a Visa spokesperson said.

“Visa Europe’s payment system is now operating at full capacity, and Visa account holders can now use Visa for any of their purchases and at ATMs, as they normally would,” the statement by Visa Europe stated.